


Taken Chances

by OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Andromeda is awesome, Gen, Sirius Raises Harry, remus helps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-16 19:14:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11835234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor/pseuds/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor
Summary: Sirius goes to Godric's Hollow to kill Peter, but finds Harry instead. And he can't abandon his godson, now can he?





	1. Chapter 1

     The motorcycle roared as Sirius pulled away from the ghastly scene at Godric’s Hollow. A whimper sounded from the car seat Sirius had magically secured to to the back of his flying motorcycle.  
     “It’s going to be all right, Harry,” he said over his shoulder. “I’ve got you now.” He dragged a hand down his face, steering the motorcycle one handed through the quiet night air. 

     “You did what?” Remus asked again, incredulous.  
     “Well, I was going to kill Peter…” Sirius began before Remus stopped him.  
     “I got that part, and a damn fool decision it was too!”  
     “But James… And Lily… He, he…” Sirius broke down, not even able to finish the sentence. Remus sighed.  
     “Sirius, how are we going to take care of a baby? It’s not like we can ask my mum, or your mum…”  
     “Hell no!” Sirius growled.  
     “And James and Lily’s parents are both gone, and her sister…”  
     “We’re not letting that snooty, magic-hating muggle raise my godson!”  
     “What about your cousin Andromeda?”  
     “Andromeda might help us out,” Sirius agreed. Both men jumped when an owl tapped on their window. Remus stood to open the window while Sirius clutched baby Harry even closer to his chest.  
     “It’s from Dumbledore,” Remus said,     “Addressed to you.” Sirius grimaced.  
     “At least it’s not a Howler,” he said. Remus poked his shoulder.  
     “Even if it’s not going to explode, you should still open it.” Sirius broke the wax seal and began reading the letter out loud. 

      Sirius (and Remus, as I’m sure the two of you are together),  
It has come to my attention that you have taken James and Lily’s son. It is the decision of the Order that Harry be placed with his Muggle aunt and uncle. That will keep him out of harm’s way, and away from any Death Eaters who might be looking for him. Please meet us at Number 4 Privet Drive to deliver the child to his relatives. This decision has been made for the safety of all involved.  
     Dumbledore  
  
     “There’s no way,” Sirius growled. “I’m his godfather. They specifically said… James and Lily said… If… If anything… Happened… If anything… Went wrong… We have to take care of him, Remus! We promised! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t break my last promise to James!” His voice hitched, and Sirius blinked furiously to hold the tears at bay. The baby whimpered in Sirius’ arms, immediately drawing his attention.  
      “It’s all right,” Sirius cooed. “Uncle Sirius’ got you, it’s going to be all right. We’ll take care of you. Shhh, shh,” he hummed, rocking the child back and forth in his arms. It would be adorable if the situation weren’t so heart breaking, Remus thought. The owl fluttered impatiently by the window, waiting for a response. Remus grabbed a scrap of parchment and scribbled a reply.  
     “What did you say?” Sirius asked, looking up.  
     “No,” Remus answered. “There’ll be hell to pay for this, you know.”  
     “Of course there will. We’re going against Dumbledore’s express wishes, after all. How do we keep Harry with us?”  
     “Are you up to ten years of dodging Dumbldore, and whoever else in the Order agrees with him?” Remus asked. Sirius ran a hand over his face, still rocking Harry with one arm.  
     “We’ve pulled off a lot of mischief, Remus, but do you think we can actually do this?” Sirius asked. All of his normal swagger and bravado was gone. They’d always known the risks, but the now-orphaned child of their best friends brought reality crashing down more than anything else had. It wasn’t just about them anymore. Sirius had never really cared if he lived or dies, but now… Now that wasn’t an option. He had to take care of Harry.  
     “How long do you think we have before Dumbledore comes after us to make me ‘see reason’?” Sirius asked.  
     “About as long as it takes that owl to reach him,” Remus said.  
     “So he can choose to believe I’ll cooperate up to that point,” Sirius muttered. “Send an owl to my cousin Andromeda. Our communications should be safe for the moment. The Death Eaters should be in disarray with the death of You-Know-Who. And Dumbldore doesn’t know we’re not going to cooperate yet. Help me pack?” Sirius asked.  
      “I’ve already started,” Remus said, brining out a half-full suitcase with a flick of his wand. “Whatever happened tonight, I knew we wouldn’t be staying here.” He looked sadly around the little flat.  
     “We?” Sirius asked.  
     “Don’t be daft. Of course I’m coming. We’re all that’s left of the Mauraders.” He drew a shuddering breath, trying not to focus on the absolute tragedy and betrayal that tore their group apart.  
     “Are we waiting for a response from Andromeda or just going?” Sirius asked.  
     “I, er, essentially just told her we were on our way and needed a place to crash. No details about Harry, or James and Lily… Though she’s probably heard something by this point,” Remus said.                      "You know the news is going to spread like wildfire.”  
     “Do I risk taking the bike? Can you put a car seat on a broom?” Sirius muttered.  
      "Sirius Black, we are not attempting to magic a car seat to a broom. You made it here on the bike, so at least we know that works. I’ll take the bags on my broom. That way if the sticking charm doesn’t hold it’s just the luggage we’re losing.”  
     “You always were the most sensible, Mooney.”  
     “It just seems that way because I actually think before I act,” Remus retorted. “Pack what you need. It’s probably not wise to stay here for too long.” Sirius sighed as he pointed his wand at the closet.  
     “You’re right, as always.”

     Andromeda was waiting for them.  
     “I didn’t bother to owl you back, I didn’t think you’d be waiting for a response.”  
     “Well, you were right,” Sirius said, muttering a spell to release the car seat and sliding it over his arm. Andromeda ushered them inside.  
     “We should talk, but not until we get inside.” She cast an uneasy eye around the quiet neighborhood. She locked the door, tapping the knob with her wand to activate the protection spells.  
     “Tea?” She asked. Remus and Sirius shook their heads, but Andromeda ignored them. “No, you need tea. It’s good for the soul. Dora! It is so far past your bedtime! Upstairs, now!” A small exasperated sigh and footsteps disappeared up the back stairs.  
     “Nymphandora,” Andromeda said by way of explanation. “Her curiosity might be the end of my sanity,” Andromeda chuckled. She herded the exhausted boys into the living room, pushing a mug of tea into Sirius’ hand as she pried the car seat holding the miraculously still-sleeping Harry away from him.  
     “Now, talk to me. The rumors and owls are already flying, but I want to know straight from you what happened.” Sirius clutched his mug as if it would give him the strength to tell the story.  
     “I… I was supposed to be James and Lily’s secret keeper,” Sirius paused, and Remus put a hand on his shoulder, offering strength. “At the last moment, I convinced them… I convinced them… To change to Peter. I thought… I thought they would be safer, with him. But he betrayed them! He, he, he,” Sirius choked back his sobs. “He betrayed them to Voldemort. I… I went to Godric’s Hollow to kill him. But he wasn’t there. But Harry was. And alive! And, and I couldn’t do anything for… For James and Lily, but I couldn’t leave my godson! They trusted me! How could I let them down again?” The tears ran unchecked, but Sirius pressed on. “So I took him. Then we get an owl from Dumbledore, and he wants to give Harry to Lily’s awful Muggle sister! You should hear Lily talk about her! I can’t, I can’t let that happen to Harry. I can’t… I can’t let them down again,” Sirius whispered.  
     Andromeda didn’t say anything for a long moment, while Sirius tried to calm himself down.  
     “So you’re running from Death Eaters and from the Order?” Andromeda asked.  
     “Essentially,” Remus grimaced. “But how can we go against our friends’ last wishes?” Andromeda studied the boys, so young, yet trying so hard to do the right thing.  
     “You can stay for now. I’ll put out some feelers, see how badly Dumbledore wants Harry with his aunt, and why. But while you stay in my house, you are safe. Now, to bed, both of you.”  
     “But I need to take care of Harry…” Sirius protested.  
     “Do you trust me, Sirius? I’ll take care of Harry for tonight. You’ll thank me later, a toddler is no easy task. Let me take care of all of you for tonight,” she said softly. Too tired to argue any further, Sirius just nodded. Andromeda led the nearly asleep-on-their-feet boys upstairs and settled them in her guest rooms. For Harry, she set up Nymphandora’s old bassinet in her room. Just for tonight. Sirius would want Harry in his room tomorrow, she was sure. Now, she had several owls to send. 


	2. Chapter 2

************

      Sirius bounced a fussing Harry on his hip.   
     “Andromeda, what should I do?” Sirius said desperately.   
      “He’s teething, Sirius, just give him a frozen pickle, not much else you can do,” Andromeda told him, unfazed by the fussing child or his frazzled caretaker. Sirius summoned the pickle. Harry chomped on it happily.   
      “Andromeda?” Sirius’ shift in tone grabbed her full attention.   
      “That’s a tone. What is it?”  
       “It’s...it’s about Remus. I just know he’s going to skive off and vanish on me for a couple days if you don’t help me, even with his potion… But neither of us are particularly skilled at potions… That was… That was always Peter…” Sirius trailed off lost in the pain his memories.  
      “Sirius, dear, you aren’t making any sense,” Andromeda said. Harry tried to shove his pickle in Sirius’ ear.   
       “Now, what’s this about Remus?”   
       “Remus has… Remus has lycanthropy,” Sirius whispered. Andromeda took in his quiet voice and fierce eyes.   
       “I can usually handle him,” Sirius continued, “and we’re both fair at brewing wolf’s bane potion, but I just know he’s not going to want to cause any trouble, and he’s going to sneak off, and we’ve been looking after him for so many years now, and I don’t want him to go through the transformation alone, but we’re here, and Harry…” Sirius trailed off. Andromeda’s heart broke slightly for her younger cousin. He took so much on himself. But dealing with a full-fledged werewolf… Even a tame one under the influence of wolf’s bane… This wasn’t a decision Andromeda could make without Ted.   
      “We’ll figure something out,” she told Sirius. “If nothing else, I can brew the wolf’s bane for you. Potions and healing are my area after all.”

     A few days later, andromeda sat Remus down at the kitchen table.

      “Sirius told you, didn’t he?” Remus asked, refusing to meet Andromeda’s eyes. “I can leave. I won’t impose any longer.” Remus stood. Andromeda reached out, lightly grabbing Remus’ forearm.  
      “Honey, you’re not leaving. Ted and I actually set up a safe room for you in the basement. I want this to be as comfortable for you as possible.” Remus just stared. Comfortable? The experience had never been… Comfortable. Even at Hogwarts, the best solution had been locking him alone in a shack. Of course, wolf's bane potion was still relatively new, and hadn’t been available when he was in school. Andromeda continued to explain the plan she and Ted had come up with as Remus listened silently.   
      “Is this sounding all right to you?” Andromeda asked. Remus made a strangled sound and swiped at sudden tears.   
       “This is… This is more consideration than I would ever have expected,” Remus said finally.  
      “Any questions you’d like to ask, or anything we need to change about the set up?” Andromeda asked.   
      “Will Sirius be with me?” He asked. Andromeda frowned, and Remus instantly wished he hadn’t said anything. He was asking too much, too much from the people who have already done so much for him, to ask them to babysit Harry so he could have the comfort of having Sirius with him… It took him a moment to realize that Andromeda was speaking to him.   
      “Even with the wolf’s bane, isn’t it too dangerous to have another person with you?” She asked. Remus smiled wanly.  
       “So Sirius shared my secrets but not his own,” he said without malice.  
      “Sirius is an animagus. Has been since our fifth year. He and James and Peter…” Remus faltered, taking a deep breath to calm himself enough to continue, “they’ve been with me for all of my transformations since then. Until…” He faltered again, “until recently.” It still caught him off guard, that Peter had betrayed them, that James was dead, that his friends were really gone, that bonds he thought unbreakable had snapped in an instant. Remus wondered if would ever be less than a gaping wound in his soul. Remus stuffed the feelings deep down, a coping mechanism he had years of practice with, to focus on what Andromeda was saying.  
     “Talk to Sirius, and let me know what you decide,” Andromeda told him, before bustling off to attend to some other household task. Remus shook his head slowly, not quite believing how lucky he and Sirius had got when Andromeda agreed to take them in.

      The full moon came, and Remus locked himself in the basement with less apprehension than normal. Sirius had promised to come check on him later, as Remus really didn’t like anyone to see him transform. Remus writhed and tried to muffle his howls as the transformation wracked his body. He huffed, the wolf’s version of a sigh of relief, as the pain of the change subsided and he realized his mind was still his own. There was always the worry that maybe this time, the wolf’s bane wouldn’t work, that maybe this time he’d again be trapped as a mindless animal, driven to bite and tear whatever he could reach, even if that was his own body. The scars of so many transformations were a constant reminder of what he was.   
The locks at the top of the stairs rattled. Remus unfurled himself from the corner, sniffing for Sirius. The door opened. It didn’t smell like Sirius. Footsteps moved carefully down the stairs. Remus flicked his ears. It didn’t sound like Sirius either. He focused on the stairs, waiting. Eight year old Nymphandora Tonks stepped into the basement, squinting in the dim lighting. Remus willed her to turn around, to go back upstairs. Remus held very very still, willing her not to see him, willing her to go back upstairs. Nymphandora did neither of these things. She zeroed in on Remus.   
     “You’re the quiet man,” she said. “Remus. I didn’t know you could turn into a puppy!” She sat down beside Remus and started rubbing his ears.   
      “I can change too,” she told him conspiratorially. “Watch!” She scrunched up her face. Her ears elongated and sharpened. Fur sprouted from her face, suspiciously close in color to Remus’ wolf form. Her nose became more canine, pushing out into a muzzle.   
     “See?” Nymphandora said proudly. “ ‘M a Metamorphagus. But mom never let's me show off,” she told Remus. Remus marveled that she didn’t seem to be scared of him. Hadn’t she been taught how dangerous werewolves were? Or at least not to approach strange dogs? (Nymphandora actually knew both, she just chose to ignore them, as she did most warnings people felt compelled to give her. Sometimes purely out of spite.) Remus lay down again, making himself as small as possible. This didn’t phase Nymphandora. She followed Remus, curled up against him, and continued chattering. The door rattled again. This time the smell and footsteps were familiar. Sirius stared at the small girl curled up against the werewolf, her face mimicking a wolf’s as best she could, happily telling him about her most recent trip to the park.   
      “Nymphandora, darling, why don’t you come here?” Sirius said, hotdog out his hand, carefully not making any sudden movements.   
       “Nope, I wanna stay and talk to Remus,” she said cheerfully. “He can change, like me! We’re best friends now,” she said solemnly.   
      “Your mum is going to be looking for you,” Sirius said, trying a different tactic. That was much more effective. Nymphandora sprang up, turning to pat Remus once more on the head.   
      “We’ll talk more later, ok?” She said before vanishing up the stairs. Sirius stared after her for a long moment.   
      “I’m really not sure what just happened here,” Sirius said, before shifting into a large black dog to keep Remus company for the rest of his transformation. 


End file.
